Best Blogs- MLB Trade Rumors

I have my small list of blogs that I routinely follow; however, for this assignment I decided to resort to Time Magazine’s best blogs of 2011 link. Much to my surprise I found out that a blog which I routinely visit made the list. MLB Trade Rumors is a blog that was started back in 2008 by search-engine marketer and Chicago Cubs diehard Tim Dierkes after he quit his day job to focus on his blog. He and nine other guys operate the Website with an incredibly flurry of visitors including yours truly. But what makes this site so much better than others, despite not having the resources or the manpower like that of big name firms like Fox Sports or ESPN, is the level of work put into each article. Whether a player is simply named in a rumor for trade or a free-agent signing MLB Trade Rumors tracks and researches every possible angle and lead until a deal is finalized or killed.

Check it out here: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

            Unlike other sports related Websites, MLB Trade Rumors doesn’t mess around cheesy puff pieces about the Top 10 uniforms or hats in the game. They focus primarily on the news itself, relaying information about the game from baseball fans for baseball fans. MLB Trade Rumors also interacts with their viewers on an almost regular basis. Readers are allowed to comment on published articles and in some cases get a return response from the author. MLB Trade Rumors also interacts with readers on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites.

            While I appreciate the service that they provide in their articles, I sometimes feel that a little bit of an opinion would make for a better article on the basis that the interaction between the readers and the author would skyrocket. Then again, as I have seen from the ESPN message boards more often than I’d like, the comments left by the readers could shift from playful banter or additional insight to flat out hate speech. MLB Trade Rumors does a solid job of keeping the peace with their readers by monitoring the posts left by the readers for all to enjoy.

            Another important detail of MLB Trade rumors is that their articles are categorized a few different ways on their main page. One the right side of the screen is a post list categorized by: top stories, an independent search section, a features section, recent posts and posts by team in case you want to cut the fact out and focus on your team. MLB Trade Rumor doesn't focus on other sports, obviously, and their Web site is updated as breaking news hits.